Information about Fljótshlíð

Fljotshlid is a beautiful farming district in southern Iceland. It is one of the main sites for Njal's Saga, a masterpiece of the saga literature. It is surrounded by some of the most active and best known volcanoes in the world.

These volcanoes are Hekla (north), Katla (east), Eyjafjallajokull (south) and the Westman Islands (south west, and including Surtsey, that was formed in the eruption of 1963-67). Markarfljot river passes between Fljotshlid and Eyjafjallajokull.

Gunnar Hamundarson, main hero of Njal’s Saga, lived in the area, at the farm Hlidarendi. It is said that when he had been sentenced to exile and was about to leave, he looked back at the Fljotshlid hill and proclaimed that because of the beauty of the scene he would not leave and hence rode back to face his fate.

Poet Thorsteinn Erlingsson lived in the area, as did artist Nina Tryggvadottir and Tomas Saemundsson, the latter active in the 19th century fight for independence.